


Caged

by ThePhoenixofHumanity



Category: Naruto
Genre: Also different title to be added., Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Umino Iruka, Canonical Character Death, Going without sight, I will tag appropriately as the story goes on, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Inspired by Bird Box (2018), M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-22 01:38:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17653562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePhoenixofHumanity/pseuds/ThePhoenixofHumanity
Summary: Trapped in a village slowly falling apart with a threat that's slowly overtaking the five nations, Iruka Umino is forced to make a decision: he has to leave the place he calls home and find safety elsewhere; the village has become too dangerous to stay in for much longer and if he doesn't leave soon, he might end up dead. But leaving the village might not be easy. Why?He's got to take his entire class of students with him, and they can't rely on their eye-sight.





	1. Start of a Journey

**Author's Note:**

> Bird Box was a really terrible movie in my opinion but the premise of not being able to use your sight at all is interesting. So I added a little bit of a twist and added Naruto into the mix. This was honestly a spur of the moment thing I wrote at like, really late at night.

“Alright, all of you. Listen to me and listen to me well, because your lives depend on it. Do not interrupt me, do not ask me questions until the end, and do not disobey me. We are in a critical situation right now and we cannot afford any mistakes.”

A sea of terrified young faces stared back at him, tight lipped and shaking. This was  _not_ a look he imagined on any of their faces at all, but things had gone south and their current situation was less than ideal. He didn't have time to worry about how scared they were; survival was the only thing that mattered now.

“We’re going on a permanent mission faraway from the village. But it is also a very dangerous mission. There is a chance some of us might die. I'm sorry to say it but I cannot guarantee we'll all make it to our end destination. I will try to keep us all alive, but it'll be difficult because at the moment, we're going to have to manage without one of our sense. It's going to hinder us, but we’re shinobi; we are trained to find ways around problems like this. If we can't use one of our senses, we'll have to rely on others." He hated the idea of doing this blind; even the best of shinobi could be rendered vulnerable without their sight. He was under more strain because he had an entire class of students with him; he couldn't protect 30 backs _and_ his own. They were going to be vulnerable at all times, exposed to all dangers, and on high alert the entire time. It’d be easier to protect all of them if he had some help but he didn’t know who he could trust anymore. It was better to do this alone.

"Those headbands you’re wearing have a purpose already, but now they have a new one: they are the only things that will keep you alive. Always keep them over your eyes unless I say otherwise and whatever you do, do not take your headbands off. Do you understand me?!”

It was hesitant at first, but there were calls of “Yes sensei” all around the room. A couple of kids clutched their headbands tightly, others looked at them like they couldn’t believe their survival depended on them. Only a select few looked unafraid of what was coming.

“Good. Now, this isn’t a time for pranks or joking around. The people out there? They will kill you or force you to turn against the people you care about. You can’t trust them. The people in this room are the only ones you can trust.”

Eyes flit around the room, either sizing one another up or looking for solace. Iruka didn’t know which. And at the moment, he didn't care which. He just wanted everyone familiar with one another before they set out. Whatever childish grudges they had against one another needed to disappear  _now_ because they couldn't afford to trip up just because two student didn't like one another.

“This is going to be difficult, but we have to move. We will stick together and this is how we will do it: I will assign you into groups of three and you will all hold hands and follow me. No one gets left behind. If you lag behind, ask your teammates to support you and help you keep moving. I will lead us to our destination and you will follow me. You will  _not_ wander off. If I find that someone left the pack or took off their headband...” he didn’t want to say it, but he had to. There was no sugarcoating anything anymore. They had seen what it was like outside, the horrors people had committed. He had to get them to face the reality of what was going on. “If you do anything that might you seem like a traitor, I’ll be forced to kill you.”

Some kids gasped; others started to cry, some stubbornly looked away and some looked like they wanted to protest, but Iruka wasn't just trying to scare them. He really would kill them if it meant keeping everyone else alive. He’d already been forced to kill one of his friends; he didn’t want to turn on one of his students! But as much as he cared about them, he had to look out for the majority of the class. It’d be difficult for him to kill them at first but he’d get over it, just like he got over the lives he’d been forced to take earlier.

“I’m serious. You’ve all seen what it’s like outside. Your friends, family, and neighbors have all been murdering one another for no reason and they've been killing themselves. I can’t risk any danger coming to anyone here, so if I have to kill you, I will.” It hurt him that it might come to that. These kids were his everything; he’d been with them practically since they were toddlers. To tell them this truth was hard and he’d probably hesitate if it came down to actually hurting them, but he’d do it. “Watch each other's backs, always let me know if you get a bad feeling, and never, and I mean  _never,_  take your headbands off. Are we clear?"

"Yes sensei."

"Good. Everyone line up, and don't complain when I place you with your teams. This is best for all of us. If you don't like someone, get over it  _now_  because I'm not tolerating any misbehavior on this mission. Now listen carefully. Kiba, Kas, Shino. Up front with me."

He expected Kiba to complain, Kas to scowl, or Shino to say something, but the three boys remained silent, took hands, and stood near him. Kiba was uncharacteristically quiet, head down, fists limp at his side. Iruka couldn't fully gauge Shino's expressions, but he'd been around the boy long enough to know that he was terrified. Kas looked relatively the same but his eyes were distant and blank, like he wasn't even in the class with them. 

"You three are our best for sensory. Without our eyes, you three will have to help guide me while we're traveling. I need you to use your abilities to the fullest to get us to our destination safely. Here." He handed Kas the end of a long length of rope. "Start making a chain. Make a loop around your wrist and pass it off. Next team will be Sasuke, Phoenix, and Shikamaru." The three took hands and moved, Phoenix turning to give Arielle a sad look. Iruka wished he could keep certain students together but they had to be smart about this. Optimizing his student’s abilities would give them a better edge once they got out there. "Then Hinata, Ino, and Arielle. After them is Naruto, Choji, and Sakura." He went down the entire list until all the kids were in teams of three. All the genin did what they were told: took the rope, wrapped a section around their wrist, and passed it on. It was the only way Iruka could be sure that they'd stick together. He would've had them wrap it around their ankles, but now that he knew they couldn't use vision, he wasn't going to risk them tripping over one another. Using their wrists assured Iruka that everyone would feel it if someone fell behind.

Before long, he had ten neat lines of three students, wrists tied together with rope, waiting for their next set of instructions. _‘If only they could listen this well in class.’_ The thought had him frowning; none of the students had actually graduated yet. Iruka had to unofficially pronounce them genin, even though they were still seven months away from actually moving on. A part of him felt guilty that this was the way they graduated, but a larger part knew that it was necessary: becoming genin was the last thing that gave them joy.

"Now pull your headbands down over your eyes and do not lift them unless I say so. We're going to take an underground route from the Academy to the outskirts of Konoha. After that, we'll have to try and travel the forest until we get to the next village. Is everyone ready?" 

He wasn't sure he was even ready for this journey. He was just an Academy teacher and now he had to take 30 genin with him to-to... _somewhere._ Where that was, he didn't know. He wasn't even sure. He hadn't had contact with any other village since the downfall and it wasn't likely that he'd make contact anytime soon. His fellow ninja were either dead or had disappeared when the situation took a turn for the worse. He just had to pray he could make it somewhere safe with all 30 kids and not lose any of them. He didn't want to leave behind the village, the place they all called a home, but they had no other choice.

Iruka took one last look around his classroom and sighed. He had a lot of memories of this class, from his school days to his teaching days. He was looking forward to a few more years teaching the next generation of shinobi but that wasn't possible anymore. He'd have to leave it all behind.

And to think just a week ago, he’d been having the time of his life.


	2. Good Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was going so well for Iruka. Then suddenly, it all went south.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be heavy. Warning for suicide, mentions of blood and fighting.

Three days into their journey and irritation was starting to settle in.

The kids were beginning to get tired, but there was nothing Iruka could do to help them. Rest was not something they could afford anymore, not while they were out in the open. Maybe during the first day, when they had been traveling through the tunnels, they took breaks when Iruka deemed it necessary. But no more could that happen A single chuunin teacher carting 30 pre-genin was an ideal target for any ninja. If they rested for even a moment, they could die. And Iruka would be damned if he let something happen to any of the kids.

But three days of continuous travel with little food would do that to anyone. Whatever few provisions they had were running low, there weren't any water sources nearby to draw from, and the weather was unbearably hot regardless of the time of day. The attack (if he could even call it that; he didn't know what it was) had happened at the worst possible time and they were all feeling the after effects. It was only going to get worse once they crossed the border into the land of Wind would things getter better. Sure, Konoha and Suna hadn't had the best of relationships but they couldn't just turn them away.

And if they did, Iruka didn't know where else they could go. 

As tired as he was, Iruka couldn't let the kids see that. He was irritable and on edge, his back was _killing_ him, but none of that was their fault. The situation they were in was just...impossible. Robbed of a key sense, forced to watch close friends and allies die, dealing with a severe injury that hadn't been treated, and having to travel with his entire class into hostile land did that to a person. Merely a week ago, he had been having the time of his life.

Within a week, everything went to shit.

Iruka had always tried to be an optimist, always tried to see the bright side of things, but he couldn't see anything good after this. A week had changed everything. Just a week ago, everything had been going perfectly. Everything had been going this way. Then it just suddenly went downhill and he had to lead 30 kids away from the only home they ever knew. If he could go back in time and change things, he would.

But he didn't even know how any of this got started.

* * *

_~Ten Days Ago~_

"I hear your students are on track for graduation."

Iruka tried to hide his smile but felt himself failing. Every time he thought about it, every time someone congratulated him on the achievement, his heart swelled with pride. "Yes. It's been a stressful few months but it's worth it when I see them constantly improve." He had been apprehensive at first when he was given the class list, and more than a little nervous, considering all the big names he recognized. He had taught many classes before but this was the first time he had a class with so many children from the prominent clans. Having Sasuke Uchiha was one thing, but then he found out that he was going to have Shikamura Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, the children of Konoha's most famous combo, along with an Aburame, an Inuzuka, a Hyuuga, three kids from different nations  _and_ the Kyuubi container made him doubt that he could do a good job with them. He was almost sure he wouldn't be able to teach them anything worthwhile. They were rowdy, difficult to handle sometimes, and it didn't seem like they would really learn anything from him. And soon, he would have to get ready to say goodbye to them because they would be going from pre-genin to genin.

He couldn't stop smiling when he thought about it. "I can hardly believe it myself but I'm so proud of them."

Sandiame smiled as well. "As you should be. You helped them release potential they never knew they had."

Iruka wouldn't go  _that_ far; any good teacher would've seen their potential and maybe even brought it out faster than he had. Other teachers might not have taken the time that he had but there were plenty of good teachers that would've been a touch better than him. "I'm not too sure about that. Any teacher could've-"

Sandiame held up a hand, silencing Iruka before he could speak further. "You're doubting yourself Iruka. Just because anyone can be a teacher doesn't mean that anyone can teach."

"I...I'm afraid I don't understand."

Sandiame took a slow sip of his tea, seeming to savor the taste for a moment before setting it down and fixing Iruka with a stern look. "Iruka, you've doubted yourself ever since you were a child. You recognize the great things about everyone around you, yet you fail to recognize what's great about you." The smile was back, though more teasing than before. "That seems to be the one lesson I've yet to teach you."

Iruka blushed. Sandiame had a habit of making him sound much better than he was, but in reality, he was just a chuunin teacher who happened to have the most lively class in the whole Academy. Despite the many failures and trials they went through, they still pulled through because of their own will and determination; Iruka had been there to point them in the right direction.

"I'm just glad they've come so far. I was convinced I wouldn't be the best teacher for them but...I have a feeling that this class will have a 100% success rate for graduation." He had his concerns about a few students, but he was sure they would all do well down the line.

"You've always been a dedicated teacher Iruka. I've no doubt in my mind that those kids will go far thanks to your tutelage." He took another sip of his tea and paused to savor the flavor, giving Iruka time to think over his words. He  _had_ been the only teacher willing to take on so many students, and even after his initial hesitance with Naruto, his class blossomed.

The rest of their time was spent finishing their tea and talking more about Iruka's class. Most of the stories consisted of Iruka recounting some of the class's antics, such as how Naruto tried to set off a paint bomb as a prank on Sasuke, but it backfired and covered half the classroom in neon green paint.

Iruka had a feeling things were going to go well for him.

* * *

The days passed by in bliss. While he would've been suspicious at first at all the kids being so well-behaved, there didn't seem to be an ulterior motive to it. Participation in class was the highest it's been, even slackers like Shikamaru and Kiba answered more questions in class and volunteered to demonstrate something Iruka taught. Naruto, for once, didn't pull any pranks and actually focused on his studies (though that may have had to do with Iruka pushing him to keep up his work), which significantly improved his grades for the moment. The only weird thing was that the class seemed to be secretive about something, sitting close together at lunch and whispering to one another, or quickly darting off once school was over to do  _something._ Iruka thought they were planning some kind of big prank, but what they were actually doing had shocked him.

He walked into class one morning to find a cake on his desk, surrounded by flowers and candy and cards, with the students all standing there proudly. The explained that they appreciated everything Iruka did and wanted to thank him for everything he had been doing for them. Iruka had a sneaking suspicion that Sandiame had a hand in this planning but the gesture of it all, of them going out of their way to get an actual cake and make cards meant the world to him. Class had been canceled that day in favor of having a little party.

That left him in a good mood for the weekend, where he had plans to catch up with friends after a long period of being too busy for anything. They met at a bar where, luckily enough, the bar was celebrating an anniversary and drinks were free. Liquirng up a bunch of dangerous ninja who carried countless pointy weapons on them was a bad idea, but it was a ninja bar so the owners were fully prepared for what could happen.

Iruka and his friends were seated in a booth near the corner and despite how loud they were being, what with all their laughing and embarrassing one another, the bar was much louder. The whole bar seemed to be in a good mood, not one fight breaking out at all. A couple of shinobi Iruka recognized from the Missions Desk and the Academy stopped by to chat him up, buy him drinks, and flirt a little but and while Iruka would usually be polite and decline flirting attempts, he was in such a good mood that he welcomed a few and even flirted back. Before he knew it, he had four different dates lined up.

Between his students' surprise, catching up with friends, and getting lucky in the dating department, things were starting to look up for Iruka. 

He was looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

The village was in pandemonium.

Iruka woke up to something coming flying through his window, crashing against the far wall and jolting him out of his sleep. On instinct, he managed to avoid the next object that flew through the window, someone's cart this time. He could hear people outside screaming and the sound of metal-on-metal, like two high-level shinobi were fighting right on his roof. Worst of all, the smell of blood was prominent in the air, so much he felt like he was choking on it.

He had never gotten dressed faster in his life but he felt even ANBU would be impressed by his speed. All his pouches were strapped on, headband slung over his shoulder, and vest firmly in place before he dashed outside. Only his reflexes saved him from something else that came flying at him, something large and heavy just brushing past his nose. He jumped back before it could hit, quickly scaling the side of his apartment complex to get a better view. There were so many thoughts racing through his head over the noise, so many questions that were going unanswered. Had they been attacked? Why hadn't the wards alerted anyone? Why hadn't ANBU or any jounin responded? Why weren't the evacuation protocols enacted?

As he surveyed the scene below him, he realized why.

Civilians threw boxes, pots, carts, and whatever they had on hand at one another. Children were screaming and crying as their parents fought and tried to strangle one another. A few shinobi chased down terrified civilians, hitting vital points with deadly accuracy. Other shinobi fought one another, elemental jutsu not only harming jounin and chuunin, but any civilian caught in the crossfire. Bodies, some bleeding out while others were marred beyond recognition, littered the ground, buildings and stands soaked with blood.

The village was at war with itself.

The first thing he thought was that it was a genjutsu, but that only raised more questions. Who could've snuck into the village and cast such a jutsu on so many people? Not only that, but why cast it on civilians? A chuunin could take down at least 50 civilians without breaking a sweat, so why put civilians under a jutsu that would only get them killed? Also, how could someone sneak in without ANBU or the guards or  _anyone_ noticing something amiss?

The only logical conclusion was that someone  _within_ the village was a traitor.

But who? Who could it have been and why? Iruka tried to think back to everyone he had encountered. Between working the Academy and the Missions Desk, Iruka saw a myriad of different people during his day. Had someone come past him and seemed off? He tried to think back to everyone he had seen the past couple of days and couldn't find an answer. Shinobi fresh off a mission were always stressed and irritable, so that didn't mean that those ninja were traitors. And there wasn't a genin out there who could fool him; the younger ones hadn't mastered control of their facial expressions or body language. Chuunin were the more stable ninja of the village so if any of them were off, that would be key. But, chuunin also got run ragged having to clean up after some of the jounin, so if any of them were off, there was no way of telling the reason why.

There was no true way to tell who could've been the traitor.

Iruka didn't have the time to think anymore. He had to see the Hokage and  _now._

* * *

Iruka couldn't go two steps without encountering a fight or nearly tripping over a corpse. The streets were a mess of bodies as men, women, and even children either attacked one another, or even more horrifically, hurt themselves. Just a moment ago, Iruka had tried to stop a woman who had taken a piece of broken pottery and repeatedly stabbed herself in the stomach. He watched people throw themselves off buildings, set themselves on fire, or harm themselves in other various way and it made him sick. There wasn't anything he could do to stop them. He tried to break up fights and stop people where he could, but no one listened to him nor did they stop, they just kept attacking one another until someone ended up dead.

If this continued any further, the village was doomed.

Despite tripping over a body or two every few feet, Iruka made it to the Hokage Tower without much incident. No one attacked him at all, more focused on harming themselves. He tried to help as many people as he could but sadly, he was either too late and someone was already dead or dying, or they seemed to be without reason and kept harming themselves. Eventually, he was forced to stop helping and just made his way to the tower.

Inside was not much better.

ANBU were attacking ANBU, even more bodies were scattered across the ground, the walls were cracked and stained with even more blood, and weapons went flying every second. Not even in the field did Iruka have to dodge so many weapons coming at him. Countless other ninja had obviously been caught in crossfire, a few still-living ninja pleading for life as they bled out. Iruka tried to help the ones still clinging to life but weapons kept them firmly pinned in their places. He had to know Sandiame's orders, so he pressed onwards to Sandiame's office.

"Sandiame-sama! We have a problem!"

Sandiame didn't even turn to look at him. His gaze was focused on the outside, where all the carnage was happening. But he wasn't reacting. Wasn't moving. He was just...staring. This wasn't right. There should've been a swarm of shinobi in the office waiting for orders, the alarm should've gone off, people should've been ready to evacuate or fight back but...it didn't look like Hiruzen was going to do anything. He held a teacup in his hands that he would take a small sip from, he radiated calm even though the situation was dire, and he just...didn't move. Iruka would've thought he was talking to a statue had it not been for Sandiame taking a sip of his tea.

ANy other time, Iruka would praise Sandiame for staying so calm when everyone else was freaking out but he was  _too_ calm. And he should've done something by now, something to help the villagers. Why wasn't he moving?

"Sandiame-sama? Is everything alright?"

Then Sandiame turned around and Iruka gasped.

His eyes. They were...so sad. Iruka had never seen him like this before. He was always kind and warm, usually with a smile on his face. Iruka didn't even believe that Sandiame could  _be_ sad, or upset for any reason. He had never seen it before. But Sandiame's eyes were so dark and sad it made Iruka's chest ache.

"Iruka..." Hiruzen shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry."

Sorry? But for what? "Sandiame-sama?"

"I'm so sorry. I made so many mistakes I could've corrected, but I didn't. I gave up on someone I shouldn't have. I didn't reach out to someone who needed me. Now that I've seen it, I see how wrong I was. Why...why did I...?" He didn't say anything more and simply turned back to the window. Iruka, for the first time in his life, was terrified to be with Hiruzen, the old man he had come to see as a father figure. He felt like anything could've happened, that Hiruzen could easily turn around a kill him without a second thought. 

But Hiruzen didn't hurt him. Rather, he shattared the window in front of him.

All the noise from before came back full-force. In the distance, Iruka spotted smoke, lightning, and utter destruction. The village was falling apart in front of their eyes. As much as he wanted to help, he was concerned for Hiruzen. What happened that caused the old man to be like this? Why did he break the window?

Hiruzen turned to him once more, shaking his head. Iruka still couldn't get over how sad his eyes were. "Iruka..."

Iruka didn't know what else might've been said, or what else Hiruzen was thinking. And he would never know. He could only watch in horror as Hiruzen threw himself off the edge.

* * *

Seeing Hiruzen jump had been horrifying, but when Iruka found the body...

He didn't think a fall from that height would be enough to kill Hiruzen; the old man was resilient, he was strong, he was the Hokage damnit, a fall like that shouldn't have killed him at all. He should've gotten up and walked away like it was nothing unless...

Unless he wanted to die.

Iruka tried to answer the questions plaguing his mind as he stared at Hiruzen's body. Why? Why had he done that? Why had he killed himself? He always talked about how many good years he had left in him. So  _why_ would he just throw himself off like that? Why had he been so sad? It was irrational and stupid and-and...

Tears started to well in his eyes. Hiruzen was...Hiruzen had...

Among all the chaos in the village, no one even knew what happened. No one would even care. The only person left was Iruka, who screamed and cried as the person who had saved him from his loneliness so long ago lay dead in front of him.

* * *

He didn't know how long he stayed there crying over Hiruzen's body, but he didn't care. Oddly enough, no one disturbed the little corner he kneeled in, crying over the body. In the back of his mind, he realized how ironic it was; it seemed like every part of the village was in chaos except for this little spot.

"Iruka!"

Someone was calling his name, shaking his shoulder. But he couldn't move. Hiruzen had died. If Iruka had reacted, had been fast enough, could he have been saved? Or if Iruka had opened his damn mouth and said something, could he have talked Hiruzen down? If he had done anything in that split second instead of just standing there silently, could things have changed?

He would never know.

"Iruka, what happened?"

Mizuki. That was Mizuki's voice. Mizuki was here and okay and safe and hadn't been caught up in any of this. "Mizuki. I...Sandiame-sama he...I-I couldn't stop him he...he just  _jumped_. Mizuki he jumped. He was so sad and he jumped. Why? Why did he just jump like that, why did he die? Why do people I care about always get hurt and leave me alone?"

"Iruka." Mizuki knelt beside him, placing a hand over his. "It's alright. He just witnessed the beauty of it all."

Iruka looked over at Mizuki, who had this strange smile on his face. He looked at peace when things were anything but. He was happy. "Beauty? What's beautiful about any of this?!" Was Mizuki blind to what was going on? The village was  _collapsing_ and Mizuki called it beautiful?

Mizuki shook his head slowly. "You didn't see it yet, did you?"

"See what?" Why was Mizuki acting so cryptic all of a sudden? Things were strange enough as it was, he didn't need Mizuki acting weird on top of that. What was it he needed to see?

"Don't worry. You'll know soon." Mizuki smiled again and Iruka got that strange feeling again. The one he felt in Hiruzen's office before he jumped. Something was off about Mizuki and Iruka needed to get away  _now_.

A sudden pain shot through his back, so intense his vision darkened. His whole body seized up, all feeling radiated towards whatever had struck. He tried to turn his head, see what or who had attacked him, but his vision was blocked by something large and sharp protruding from his back. His hands started shaking, his mouth filling with blood, body starting to fail him. He almost fell, but he didn't want to fall on Hiruzen's body; that was the only thing that stopped him from falling over.

And beside him, Mizuki kept smiling.

It didn't take long for Iruka to put the pieces together. Mizuki had stabbed him. With what, Iruka didn't know. But whatever it was, it was deep in his back and only getting deeper. His back felt like it was splitting apart. "Why...why did you...?"

"I couldn't get you to see any other way. It's beautiful..." Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder in what was normally a comforting motion, but it felt like anything but. First the village, then Hiruzen, and now Mizuki. Everything around him was collapsing and he didn't know how to stop it nor how it started. What happened that caused everyone to go insane? And why did it happen in the first place?

Iruka blacked out.

* * *

It was quiet when Iruka woke up next.

A little too quiet for his tastes. What happened to all the noise from earlier? It felt stranger for it to be quiet after all the chaos and noise from earlier. Was it all a bad dream?

He tried to get up but pain arched through his back, preventing him from moving. He lay writhing in an unfamiliar room on a strange bed trying not to cry from the pain.

"Iruka? Iruka, hey. It's alright."

Genma? That sounded like Genma's voice. As much as Iruka wanted to be relieved, after his encounter with Mizuki, it left him on edge. If Genma had fallen into the same chaos as Mizuki had. Then Iruka would be screwed. With his back injury weighing him down, he was in no way ready to defend against anything.

"Hey man. It's alright. We're safe." Genma came into view, looking as haggard as Iruka felt. "There's only a few of us here, but we're all good. No craziness in here."

He desperately wished he had a weapon on him right now. If Genma was up to something, at least having a weapon would make him feel safer. He couldn't trust anyone or anything right now. Everyone had started going crazy, how was he to believe Genma hadn't succumbed to the same thing. "Where am I?"

"Underground. It was the only place we could go to avoid..." Genma gestured around vaguely. It was obvious that he didn't want to say what happened earlier. "Uh, yeah."

This was suspicious. Everything about this just set him on edge. He blacked out and suddenly he was safe with a friend? Mizuki had lured him into a false sense of security before; how was he to be sure that Genma wasn't going to do the same thing? He had to stay on his guard if he wanted to survive. His back injury wasn't going to heal anytime soon and was only going to slow him down in a fight. And if he had to fight Genma in this state, the outcome wouldn't be good. "Is anyone else here?"

Genma nodded. "A few of us actually. Kotetsu, Izumo, Raidou, Anko, Ibiki. There are a couple others down here and we're all freaking out. Anko freaked when I brought you down here and was out for blood. Mizuki's dead so her manhunt has to be on hold..."

Mizuki was dead? "B-But how?"

"I..." Genma sighed. "I found him beside you, and he was murdering someone. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me I wouldn't understand because I didn't see it. He said we all needed to see it and started to attack me. I don't feel sorry about it but I had to kill him."

There it was again. Hiruzen had mentioned it as well. Hiruzen said he could "see" something but Iruka didn't see anything. He didn't know what he was supposed to see. Two people mentioned it and both ended up dead. It didn't even matter that Genma had killed Mizuki, there was still the mention of something they saw that tricked them. But whatever it was, it sounded like Genma hadn't seen it, didn't know what it was, and wasn't affected by it.

That should've made him feel safer but it just filled him with apprehension. Whatever was above them could find them. And when it did, they would all be dead just like Mizuki and Hiruzen.

Tears he didn't know he was still holding started to well in his eyes at the memory. His throat burned again, though not from blood this time. "Genma he...Sandiame was just standing there and...he started talking and apologizing and-and I didn't know what for. HIs eyes, Genma. His eyes were so sad. I've  _never_ seen him so sad before. A-A-And Mizuki. We were walking away from Hiruzen when he just...he hit me in the back and it hurts Genma, it still hurts. I..."

Genma wrapped his arm around him and Iruka flinched. Genma wasn't going to kill him but after his encounter with Mizuki he couldn't calm himself down. "Iruka, don't worry. You're safe now. Everything is going to be okay."

What neither of them knew was that Genma was dead wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being gone so long!

**Author's Note:**

> 1) I tagged this with major character death for a reason. This is going to go down like Bird Box, so characters will die. If that isn't your thing, I'm gonna ask that if you're uncomfortable with that, you find a different story to read.
> 
> 2) Made up a couple characters to fill in Iruka's class but three of them are the OCs of me and my best friend.


End file.
